Merseytravel to upgrade key stations

Merseytravel has pledged grant funding towards the re-development of railway stations in Chester and Ormskirk over the next two years.

Chester is the tenth most popular of Merseyside's 90-plus stations for Merseyrail passengers and Ormskirk is thirteenth.

The Chester Station funding of £215,000 will support repairs and improved passenger facilities on platform seven, which could see more regular services in future. The station is undergoing its own £10m improvement programme inside and outside the building.

The £200,000 for Ormskirk Station will support improvements to the station building, roof, flooring, booking hall, toilets and passenger facilities as part of a wider £1.1m regeneration.

The announcement of funding for Ormskirk Station comes as Merseytravel launches a new study looking at demand for the potential reinstatement and possible electrification of the Burscough Curves.

The Burscough Curves project would involve electrifying the link between two stations in Burscough, currently on completely separate railway lines – Burscough Bridge (Southport to Manchester line) and Burscough Junction (Ormskirk to Preston line).

It would allow for a direct link between Ormskirk and Southport, boosting services for rail passengers in the area.

Neil Scales, chief executive and director general of Merseytravel, said: "The redevelopment of Orsmkirk Station is important because it links closely with what we are looking to do with the Burscough Curves, which has a lot of support locally."